John m



- (No Model.)

J. M. CLIFFORD.

TOY.

No 486,086. Patented Nov. 15, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

JOHN M. CLIFFORD, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN.

TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,085, dated November 15, 1892.

Application filed December 11,1891. Serial No. 414,693- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN M. CLIFFORD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Madison, in the county of Dane, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple toy that may also serve as a game to be played by any number of persons; and to this end the said invention consistsin certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts to be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan view of a toy constructed according to my invention, and Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

Referring by letter to thedrawings, A represents a base or receptacle that is preferably of circular form and made from wood, sheet metal, pasteboard, or other suitable material. On the bottom of the receptacle within the same is a series of pockets disposed in any preferred arrangement, the pockets shown being formed by a series of split rings B, arranged on a circle to stand at an angle to said bottom of the receptacle and converge toward a common center. Each of the split rings B is shown as having one end thereof extended through the bottom of the receptacle A and bent parallel to the same, a strip 0 of paper or other suitable material being pasted on said receptacle to conceal the bent ends of the rings. The space on the bottom of the receptacle outside of the pockets or rings B serves as a track for a series of balls, marbles, or othervrolling objects D, that correspond in number to said rings or pockets, and to successfully operate the toy it requires that said receptacle be manipulated so as to arrest and seat all of the rolling objects, this result necessitating a certain amount of skill on the part of the operator. The pockets may be given arbitrary values and a game made of the toy by crediting the value of a pocket each time one of the rolling objects is lodged therein, a loss equal to or more than any one of the pockets being charged when one of said rolling objects caught therein is dislodged in the attempts to seat another.

As previously stated, the pockets may be disposed in any preferred arrangement, and in practice various geometrical designs may be formed by the disposition of said pockets, the seating of the balls or analogous objects being rendered more or less difficult in proportion to the intricacies of such a design and the contour of the base or receptacle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A toy comprising a suitable base, a series of rings arbitrarily disposed thereon to stand at an angle to the same, and a series of rolling objects, these objects being arrested and lodged in the rings by a manipulation of said base, substantially as set forth.

2. A toy comprising a suitable receptacle, a series of rings arranged in a circle upon the bottom of the receptacle to stand at an angle thereto and converge toward a common center, and a series of rolling objects corresponding in number to that of the rings, these objects being arrested and lodged in said rings by a manipulation of said receptacle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand. at Madison, in the county of Dane and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. CLIFFORD.

Witnesses:

J. OURTIss GORDON, J. O. GORDON. 

